ORLANDO, Fla. — Early voting in Orlando and the rest of Orange County is running at roughly twice the pace of the last midterm, and nearly 147,000 voters had already cast ballots heading into the final week before the Nov. 3 general election.
Supervisor of Elections Karen Castor Dentel said the county is averaging about 13,000 voters a day, close to double the daily turnout seen during the 2022 midterm. More than 14,000 people voted on Saturday alone, according to unofficial county turnout figures. Those totals also count mail ballots that voters carried in by hand.
Early voting opened Oct. 19. That first Monday drew more than 19,700 voters, and Friday brought in just over 18,000. Castor Dentel said many people who requested mail ballots are choosing to drop them off in person, which may be lifting the numbers, though mailing them back is still an option.
Statewide, more than 2.5 million Floridians had already voted, based on statewide tracking from the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
The county runs 27 early voting sites, from library branches and community centers to the elections office itself at 119 W. Kaley St. in Orlando. Newer locations this cycle include the Holden Heights Community Center, the Northwest Neighborhood Center, the Taft Community Center and a site at UCF’s Barbara Ying Center.
The Apopka Community Center on South Central Avenue has been among the busiest sites, Castor Dentel said, though lines have kept moving. Parking has been tight at a few crowded locations, and she pointed voters to sites with room to spare, such as the John H. Bridges Community Center in Apopka, the Barbara Ying Center at UCF and the Kaley Street office.
She also noted that many voters arrive with marked sample ballots, which helps them finish quickly and keeps waits short.
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